A family of ‘hams’

“Thanks for call. Your signal report is 589 here in Greenwood, South Carolina. My name is Charles.” “Good morning Charles, and I’m glad to meet again. Our last contact was on September 2003. My name is Bill. Location: Willis, Texas.” While this conversation may seem relatively simplistic, the average person would not be able to understand it. That’s because it was spoken in morse code by two amateur radio operators and translated by a third operator, Craig Johnson of Shoreview. Johnson has been involved in amateur radio, also known as ham radio, since he was 14 years old. Ham radios allow licensed operators to communicate with other hams in the United States and even throughout the world using voice or morse code, all without the use of a phone line. In fact, Johnson has talked to hams in “all corners of the world,” including South America, Africa and even Antarctica. He has received QSL cards (similar to postcards) from 223 countries out of the 243 countries he’s communicated with. Johnson is not the only ‘ham’ in his family. When his kids were younger, Johnson and his wife Judy would read the Tommy Rockford series to them about a young boy involved in ham radio. Minda, Johnson’s 23-year-old daughter, believes reading those books is what piqued her interest in the hobby. “I liked learning a new way to communicate. Morse code was fun for me because I love languages,” she said. Minda received her license when she was 14 years old but found that the demographics of ham radio were not right for her. “You have to find that group of people who have common interests and that you enjoy talking to,” she said. Because the majority of ham radio operators are men her dad’s age, that proved difficult. While communicating with hams in the United States and in other countries is a large part of the hobby, hams are also involved in technical experimentation, public service, civil defense and national and international fellowship, according to Erik Westgard of Shoreview, ARRL’s (American Radio Relay League) public information officer. Johnson’s 19-year-old son, Tim, showed an interest in his dad’s hobby at an early age. Together, Johnson and his son would debug and build equipment, set up antennas and participate in contests. “I would never push him, but when I saw he was interested, I would see his aptitude for it and encourage it,” Johnson said. Tim received his license when he was 10 years old and went on to receive his more advanced license four years later. “I could see growing up how important it was for Tim and his dad,” Judy said. Tim’s passion lies in the technical experimentation side of the hobby. “He loved to go to HAMFEST and bring stuff home to try and make it work again,” Johnson said. “He would come home and we would say, ‘What kind of junk did you get this time’” said Janelle, his 21-year-old sister. “It’s fun to play with the electronics, and it gave me a good base knowledge,” Tim said. He is currently studying to be an engineer, like his dad. Recently, Judy and Janelle decided to get their licenses also. “It was sort of a challenge. Janelle and I said, ‘Let’s do it together.’ I had no background in electronics, so to me it was very interesting,” Judy said. “And I found out what Craig’s been involved in all of these years.” “For so many years I’ve just been around this stuff,” Janelle said. “I kind of got my license for the fun of it, just to be with my mom and dad.” In order to get their licenses, Judy and Janelle had to pass an amateur radio test. “The really cool thing for me was to go through the information with Dad so he could explain it to us, instead of just memorizing it,” Janelle said. While she isn’t sure what she would like to do with her license in the future, Janelle said, “I think it’s a good personal accomplishment to have. It could maybe come in handy in the future for me.” According to Richard Jackson, new section manager for the ARRL, one of amateur radio’s main goals is to give back to the community in public service. Hams around the Twin Cities are involved in everything from weather spotting for SKYWARN to providing communications services at the Twin Cities Marathon, all as volunteers. Johnson, a trained weather spotter for SKYWARN, was able to put his knowledge into practice in the late 1990s when a tornado hit near his home in Shoreview. When he encountered fallen power lines on his way home, Johnson used the mobile radio in his car to notify emergency personnel so they could notify the public. Ham radio plays an important role in emergencies such as these. When electricity is not available, ham radio is one of the only ways for people to communicate. During disasters such as the Florida hurricanes and Sept. 11, hams were relied upon to relay messages around the world. With its important role, it’s surprising that very few people know about ham radio. “I think most people my age don’t even know what it is,” Janelle said.

“It’s a matter of exposure,” Tim said. But as Walter Cronkite, ham radio operator and former CBS news anchorman, said on “Amateur Radio Today,” “It really is the best backup communication system in the world, and that’s the way it is.”